Christmas Party

The party will be in Frenchtown at the National Hotel on Saturday Dec.11. I plan to arrive by 500 P.M. to check in and get the changing room open. The pre-dinner food should be setup between 7:00 and 7:30 P.M. with the dinner orders being taken by 8:00 P.M.

We will have the same room for the party that we used last year, but will not have exclusive use of the downstairs bar, unless we get a least 24 people and pay a $200.00 extra fee. I hope the other customers will be ready for us. The actual dinning room should be closed to the public. The bathroom in the changing room will be available so we will not upset other quests.

Dinner and a Movie

On October 30 there were only three of us, but it was still a fun night. We ate at the Town and Country and the movie was Taxi. Both were good.

The next date is Jan 29. If you are interested in going, contact Pat.

Wives Meeting

It is not likely that we will have a wives meeting, not enough wives are likely to be at the meeting. We will try, but don't count on it.

Party Menu

Menu choices are:

We must reduce this to THREE, with your final choice at the dinner.

Girls Night Out

Anyone wishing information about future NIGHT OUT events and dates should contact Alice.

New Members

We are always looking for new members. Any member may bring someone that they have meet. Please go out of your way to make a new member of visitor feel welcome and at home.

I have interviewed several in the past month and hoe that some will come to the meeting.

$ MONEY $

The attendance at meetings is going down, and some members will soon be moving out of the area. If attendance does not improve, we may have some real money problems.

ANY OTHER IDEAS????

Anyone have an idea for a meeting?

Dec. is the Christmas Party. The rest of the year is open. If you have an idea, please give it to me. If you know of someone who can/will give a program, tell me.

HELP! WITH NEWSLETTER

For those who know me, this might come as a surprise, but I could use some help with articles for the newsletter. Simply email anything to me that might be of interest. Please keep it to about one half of a page as I do not have the time to edit and I can not put long articles in the newsletter.

Programs

I had a suggestion that we have a theme for the night. Everybody try to dress the same way. Business suits Swim suits, trashy, whatever. Or maybe a gown night.

Was Phoebe Snow a Railfan?
by Jennifer Mae Barnes

Recently, I visited Steamtown dressed as a woman in the company of some other transwomen and their significant others. The leader of the group wanted me to give a tour. Several factors made me reluctant to do so. Though I visit Steamtown regularly, I usually look at the outside locomotive displays, rarely venturing inside. I last fired a steam locomotive in 1986. Frankly also I did not wish to prejudice non-railfans against Steamtown, which I feel has catered to misguided patriotism and local special interests when it should have said, "Thank you, Canada." One reason for not wishing to give a tour was the presence of a transwoman who has a large HO layout. I was tempted to let her give the tour, if she wanted. Some ask, why is Jennie not the railfan that I am in male mode? Simple, genetic women are by and large not railfans. If a genetic woman wants to be as rail enthusiastic as I am in male mode, it is for her to do this. It is not for me as a transwoman to act out of character, in a way no woman does. I have found that maintaining female interest is very important when taking a woman railfanning. A Bryn Martyr I dated in 1968 could not see how a grown man could "like trains." Things have improved through the years. Once I offered to take a girlfriend who liked my action shots train chasing. She showed up in heels and hose. She wanted to see me shoot just one passing train, but not to spend the whole day out chasing trains. I sat a woman down in the cab of a steamer at a museum and went through the entire backhead, which she seemed to enjoy. But when we came to the next exhibit, she exclaimed, "Oh, I hope we are not going to have to go through each cab!" I was able to fascinate a female friend with my discovery of the ruins (now demolished) of the former Delaware & Hudson roundhouse in Carbondale, PA, with a locomotive (non-D&H) still stored in it. But she is an antique dealer, and this was archeology. One woman who was along for the Steamtown visit had little interest in the steamers but wanted to see the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western station. Janet Greenstein Potter has written Great American Railroad Stations, a definitive work on the subject. Many female railfans have entered the hobby because of their brothers' interest. Women railfans are often specialized, like the sister of a good friend who just likes Shays. Many of my published railroading articles are directed at women editors. Such editors are little interested in locomotive classifications. They often wish to see a connection between railroads and human needs. They want so see how a railroad relates to a particular industry, or to promote rail transit because it is environmentally safe, or because rail transport generally reduces injuries and is overall safer. So, do not blame me if, when in female mode, I act like girlfriends I have taken railfanning, or female editors who like my contributions or the few women railfans I have known.